Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-01-06
CLOVER AND r,sorHY.


ssreeg saspieions That tho nests Of th0
Former Take Adv.ntsse q the Lsstes.
During tie pest year the writer has
been making some observations upon
the roots Of the red clover and the COM
mon timothy. These two plants are tho
types Of their respective grDupa The
clover (Tritosssns pratesse) is tho pre-
ferred forage plant Of the great pulse
family. to which the pea, bean, lucern
and thousands of other plants belong.
The timothy fPhleun' pross''sel. on tho
other hand. is the standard meadow
grass. and is a member Of the CREST
grass family which includes the cereals
among its best members The farmer
could not get along for single season
without these two royal orders q plants,
and it may be also true that his success
would not be at its height If he neglect
ed to grow the two Representatives here
chosen
From first to last. the clovenis very
different from the timothy. In struc-
ture there is no similarity, until the mi
crosconic elements are considered. and
here. Of course, an plants are much
alike. In leaf, stem and flower there
is very little in common The Observa-
tons the present season have boon upon
the roots. and here there is wide dif-
ference found. Passing by the process
of termination. which has its charac-
teristic method in the seeds of each
plant, the roots themselves widely diff
fer. The observations were made upon
young plants produced by scattering
seeds of the grass and clover upon
moist blotting paper. and covering
them with more blotsing paper. A flask
was so arranged that it furnished con-
slant supply of water.
The timothy roots are small-that is,
long and slender. The cap or covering
ut the tip is thin. and does not cast oil
many celia a word of explanation is
here needed ON root caps in general.
Every well-developed root has its tip or
free-growing end protected by cap.
consisting Of cells or little sacs packed
together. making u covering. The root
grows in length at point. or in a layer
just under this cap. The cap is worn
Off upon the outside. by contact with the
sharp particles of soil. and this loss is
made good by new cells formed upon
the inner side. The timothy roots DO
not produce many root-hairs for a con-
siderable distance from the tip of the
root. The root is therefore smooth,
and might be likened to common pin.
On the other hand. the clover root has
a thick. well developed cap. and from
its outer surface many cells are exfo-
lated. The reader must bear in mind
that the roots under investigation were
grown free from soil and doubtless the
tips arc somewhat different from those
that arc produced in the soil The
roothairs begin to develop from
the surface of the root in large num-
bers, only short distance back
of the tip. These hairs are of different
shape from those of the timothy. being
often much twisted and frequently club
shaped; while those in tho grass are
of the same diameter through
out and usually straight. The most in
teresting point in connection with these
hairs, was the fact that they quickly
twisted around any substance that would
furnish any nOurishment for the young
plant. They often twisted upon each
other. and formed complex knots. The
extolisted cells and accompanying slime
from the tip of the rOOt-caps, were eag-
erly sought by these hairs whenever
they came with n their reach. TIE
crooked hairs seemed to vie with each
other seeking out anything they could
absorb. The timothy hairs exhibited no
such determination. They wcro we'll
behaved, while the ciOver-root hairs
showed themselves as willing to take
any means to get on in the world.
These hairs in one case attacked the
tip of timothy leaf, and exhibited all
the indications of obtaining food there
from. They bent out OF Their regular
course as far Us possible to get their tips
in contact with the timothy. The clover
hairs frequently behaved toward the
hairs of the timothy roots as the threads
of parasite upon its host.-Prof. B. d
Hals.ed, ~ Country Gentleman.